Carole Mallory's blog consists of movie and book reviews and commentary on Hollywood. Mallory is an actress who portrayed a Stepford Wife in the original film and appeared in other movies such as Looking for Mr. Goodbar. A former supermodel, her writings are published in The Huffington Post and Hollywood's The Wrap. Her book reviews are published in the Philadelphia Inquirer. Norman Mailer was her mentor. Upon his death she sold her collection of writings with his edits to Harvard University.

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Riveting. Stunning. Surprising. Curves are thrown at you at unsuspected moments. A great plot is filled with hair pin turns and witty one liners. Laughter erupts at unpredictable moments. In the very beginning when the logo Marvel is flashed on the screen, the audience goes wild. Everything about this film is about precision -- the tight bodies, perfect hairdos, impeccable timing of its actors, inventive sets.

Chris Evans as Steve Rogers aka Captain America has an innocence that should be patented. Cuddly and wide eyed, he has a kind of lost look that is rare in film today. A quizzical expression makes him -- while being the most viral man on the planet -- appear at times almost helpless. Until someone pisses him off.

And Robert Redford does. Redford shines as the villain, Alexander Pierce. It is good to see him go for a commercial film of this magnitude. And this is whatCaptain America: The Winter Soldieris about -- magnitude. Gigantic space ships, perfect women and then there is the always enchanting Samuel Jackson as Nick Fury who just does not want to die. You will fall in love with him if you are not already. He withstands one disaster upon another and you think this can't keep happening.

Jackson had never worked with Redford and to break the hero-worshiping-ice Jackson played golf with Redford and this eased their working relationship. There is ease between each member of this cast. Anthony Mackie as The Falcon glides through his part as a smooth and loyal witty friend of Steve Rogers while Scarlett Johannsen as the Black Widow does not miss a beat. Her acting is precision as is all in this film thanks to directors Anthony and Joe Russo and the stellar cast. The editing by Jeffrey Ford is tight as just when you think you've had enough of this scene the action moves to a new experience. You are held in the palm of this crew's technical expertise as this film is told in a series of layers that are peeled away, but we never see the core as there will be a sequel made apparent if you stay beyond the initial final credit role.

One complaint is thatCaptain America: The Winter Soldierat two and a half hours is too long. Perhaps cutting some of the early action scenes would have eased the desire to check your watch.

Portraying Councilwoman Hawley, Jenny Agutter has a meaningful role and it is a delight to see her after all these years. Her calm, friendly presence leads nicely to a contradiction that her character offers up.

Those familiar with the Marvel comic book series know the plot. Steve Rogers must battle a threat from the Soviets in the modern world in the form of the Soviet agent Winter Soldier. There are car chases, fisticuff scenes such a one in an elevator particularly memorable, motorcycle races, and an actual kiss that Rogers plants on the Black Widow. While the romance never actualizes, we are left with longing. Just as we are left with longing for the return of Captain America as soon as possible.

Arguably the best Marvel film to date, "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" really just takes everything you love about superhero films and meshes it together with every great thriller/action film ever made, and it makes for a fantastic time at the movies. With some great twists, and things you may or may not have seen coming that still come off as very effective. As always, Chris Evans plays his role perfectly, but Samuel L. Jackson and Scarlett Johannsen get a lot of screen time as well and they do their characters justice. Anthony Mackie, a newcomer to the Marvel Universe, is a very likeable character and I cannot wait to see more of him in the future. Pulling from many aspects of the first film while still acknowledging the Avengers, this is one of the strongest stories that almost holds up on it's own. They are leaving so many options open for the future of this Universe and I cannot wait to see the directions they take. I had a blast watching this film, and really, aside from a few minor complaints, it's perfect for what it is.

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About Carole Mallory

Carole Mallory is an actress, journalist, professor, and film critic. Her film credits include Stepford Wives and Looking for Mr. Goodbar. As a supermodel she graced the covers of Cosmopolitan, New York, and Newsweek. Besides her novel “Flash,” Mallory has written a memoir of her time with Norman Mailer, Loving Mailer. After the writer's death, she sold her archive of his papers to Harvard. Her journalistic pieces on Vonnegut, Jong, Vidal, Baryshinikov, and Heller have been published in Parade, Esquire, Playboy, Los Angeles Magazine, The Huffington Post, and Hollywood's The Wrap. Her review of Charles Shields' biography of Kurt Vonnegut, And So It Goes, was published in the Sunday Philadelphia Inquirer. She teaches memoir at Cheltenham Adult School and Widener University.
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